Is a tube phono better than ss?

My Zesto Andros AX7 tube phono is extremely quiet, very musical, and very detailed. A significant step up in detail and noise reduction from the $4000 solid state Tom Evans Groove I replaced.

You can find these used now for around $3k.

Its complicated. I have both. My experience is that it mainly speaker dependent. Also a factor is whether the solid state is Class A circuit design. So, there is no clear answer to the question. Best to find a dealer that will let you try various equipment until your ears tell you the 'answer' has been found. It may take a lifetime.

I have been back and forth on owning tube or solid state phono preamps for aseverla years now and conclude that my personal tastes indicate that I much prefer a tubed phono pre over a solid state version. Smooth, grain free and midrange sweetness all appeal to my ears and are just not quite as nice with solid state. My local audio buddies concur. But then we all listen to high quality vinyl from the 60s and 70s, so perhaps the format of the time mandates the technology as well.

Mallen123
The tubed Zesto phone stage being quieter than the SS Tom Evans is saying a lot and suggests a very commendable design-implementation.

I agree completely with what Salectric posted. My own preference is for tube-based phonostages. I have also heard plenty of dead quiet tube phonostages (e.g., my Viva Fono) and some surprisingly noisy solid state ones (e.g., Boulder), so I would not generalize about noise issues. Most of the tube units I like happen to require the use of a SUT or have one built in at the front end of the unit, but, I cannot say that this is a requirement for good sound (Some that avoid use of a SUT have some noise issues because of the need for additional gain stages or use a transistor gain stage at the front end).

The only solid state phonostage that really interested me is the Lyra Connoisseur. I heard it at a show and the system it was in sounded great--very dynamic, harmonically rich and vivid. At lower price points, I've heard plenty of nice solid state stages even though they are not my absolute favorites. Some examples include the top of the line Naim phonostage and the much more modest Linn Linto.